Struck By The Moonlight
by DarkLadyRevan41
Summary: RJ is having trouble with his Wolf Spirit. He tries to hide it from his friends, but Rinna knows better. Can Rinna save RJ from himself in time before the worst happens? Or will Rinna pay the price? RJ/OC


**Hey Guys. I know i haven't updated my LOTR story in a while. Don't worry i'm still working on it, i've just been busy for the past few months. This was a little one-shot (or maybe two-shot if people like it enough) that i came up with to help cure writer's block. This OC will be also featured in a new Power Rangers: Jungle Fury Revise and Rewrite that i'm going to post called Sacrifice. Be on the lookout for it! Thanks! **

**Please Review! It lets me know how well i'm writing!**

**I do not own Power Rangers:Jungle Fury or any of the characters associated with it. I just own Rinna.**

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Rinna knew RJ was hiding something. He would leave for hours on end without telling anyone and then mysteriously show up again. He was in constant pain, often gripping his shoulder and writing it off to the others as a pulled muscle. Rinna knew better. She had been sitting in his beloved chair for hours now, determined to wait him out and see what he'd been up to. Suddenly, a noise from the kitchen startled her from her thoughts. She slowly got up, careful not to make a sound. As she got closer to the stairs she heard animalistic growling and the sound of glass being shattered as it hit something hard. Rinna's wolf spirit helped her senses be more sharpened than other humans, and she could see in the dark better than most humans. Her yellow eyes were glowing in the darkness as she crept down the stairs toward the sound.

The kitchen was in shambles. Rinna peered around the upper part of the stairs where the second floor met the first. She gasped at what she saw; there was a werewolf in the fridge, throwing food out of it and covering the walls. The werewolf must have heard her gasp as it sharply turned its head toward her and snarled. They both stood their ground, neither moving for fear the other would bolt; the woman losing her edge, and the werewolf- its prey. Werewolves are fearsome creatures, fortunately only those with the spirit of the wolf could fall prey to the disease. Werewolves feed on other humans or cattle to stay alive, but usually only younger, untrained students could fall prey to this disease; not Pai Zhua Masters. And yet, both Rinna and RJ had fallen prey to the horrific struggle between man and beast. Something sinister had caused RJ to lose control of his wayward wolf spirit, transforming him into something that filled men's hearts with terror.

While lost in her thoughts she had become distracted. The werewolf took the opportunity and jumped after its prey- Rinna. It tackled her to the ground and grappled her hair with its meaty hand, dragging her up the stairs. Determined not to scream she bit down on her lip against the splintering pain of her hair being pulled out of its roots. The metallic taste of blood came into existence as she bit into her lip as they reached the top of the stairs. It threw her across the room and she crashed into the lower level of the loft's wall. Her vision blackened around the edges as she slid down the wall weakly. She looked up helplessly as the werewolf charged her, slamming her up against the wall again. Now her blood was pumping furiously, sending Rinna into fight-or-flight mode. Her pupils got smaller and her wolf spirit came out and howled at the werewolf, snarling and snapping. The werewolf howled as Rinna's claws scratched it in the forearm, leaving a deep gash. It backed off of her and her wolf spirit receded as it recognized it was out of immediate danger. Rinna fell to her knees in pain and exhaustion, falling unconscious. The werewolf stood over her, readying its claws for the final strike, but something held it back. It growled as the human inside of it managed to regain some control. Finally, the beast receded fully, revealing the human behind the werewolf. It was RJ.

RJ was on all fours, panting in the aftermath of his transformation. He regained his bearings enough to lift his head and survey the damage he had wrought. Broken chairs, claw marks, scratches on the floor and walls…then he turned to find what looked like something out of a horror movie. RJ prayed that it was just a trick of the eyes and not who he thought it was. He bent down to the fallen form and gently rolled it over, he felt a sharp pain shoot up his forearm but he paid it no heed, he was only focused on the nightmarish form of Rinna; broken and bloody. He surveyed her injuries, she had a head wound complete with blood actively seeping out of the gash and numerous claw marks raked her arms; obvious signs of a struggle. RJ was horrified that he had done this; well, not him exactly, but his wayward spirit. He felt tears trickle down his face as he started to bandage Rinna's wounds. His own soul was tortured that he would do something so horrible to his own pack, his mate, even if she had put herself in danger trying to save him from his corrupted soul. After bandaging her more life-threatening wounds he lifted her gently off of the hard floor and carried her into his room. RJ laid her gently down onto the soft bed and covered her up with the blankets, trying to make her as comfortable as possible. He kissed her forehead and left the room, his mind made up.

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Rinna awoke to birds chirping outside the open window. Her surroundings were unfamiliar as she sniffed the air, trying to discern her whereabouts. Truthfully, she did not expect to be alive after last night. She groaned as she sat up and blinked her eyes furiously to wake herself out of her sleepy state. Rinna realized that she was in RJ's room. In the back of her mind a red flag went off, where was RJ? She shot out of bed, almost falling as she wobbled on her feet. Rinna ran to the main loft area, shouting, "RJ!" repeating his name over and over again as she checked each room. A sinking feeling settled in her heart as her search attempts were futile. Back in the main loft area she noticed that his locker was open, and empty, his backpack gone. Her heart sank with each step as she slowly made her way back to RJ's room, almost afraid of what she'd find. On the end table was a letter, with her name on it. Rinna gripped the letter in her hand and sank heavily onto the bed; looking at the beautifully scrawled script that belonged to none other than RJ. Her hands shaking, she opened it. It read:

_Ri,_

_Last night was the last straw. I cannot be around those I love for the constant fear of hurting them like I hurt you. My heart constricts with pain as I remember the gruesome way you were sprawled out face down in a pool of your own blood on the loft's floor. I need to be away from everyone for a while to get this evil purged from my spirit. I cannot bear to hurt anyone else; it would be the death of me. Please don't go looking for me, my love, I could not bear to see you hurt again. I am a monster, whatever Dai Shi did to me it has made my wolf spirit go haywire. I will return to you as soon as I can rid myself of this evil. _

_Be strong my love._

_RJ_

Rinna felt like the breath had been knocked out of her by some unknown force as she fell back onto the bed in shock. She let out an ear piercing howl of grief as she started to sob uncontrollably into one of RJ's pillows. They still had his scent on them albeit barely; but Rinna would take what she could get to fill the now void in her broken heart. Wolves mate for life, and hers just left her; leaving a deep void in her heart and soul. Rinna did not leave that bed for the rest of the day.

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Casey, Lily and Theo came back from their visits with their other master later that day. They were greeted by Fran, who was strangely the only person running the pizzeria. Lily spoke, "Hey Fran."

Fran perked up, "Oh good you're back! Maybe you can talk some sense into her." She remarked as she was filling drink orders.

Casey frowned, "Who?"

Fran sighed, "Rinna. She has locked herself in RJ's room, and refuses to come out. I went up to check on them this morning when I saw that no one was working yet. I found her in RJ's room, lying on his bed, with dried tear tracks down her face." Fran looked haunted, "But her eyes! Her eyes were the scariest of all, there was no light in them! It was like she was staring into a void, her fire that always seemed to exist there was extinguished! I don't know what's wrong with her. I went to ask what was wrong but she screamed at me to get out and she slammed the door behind me."

The others looked scared for their friend's health, Theo asked, "Did you see anything else?"

Fran looked thoughtful for a minute and then remarked, "You know, before she kicked me out I caught a glimpse of a piece of paper crumpled up in her hands as she gripped it hard. It looked like a letter. I have no clue as to who wrote it though."

Lily frowned, thinking of something, "Fran, have you seen RJ lately?"

Fran's eyebrows rose at the implication, "No, I haven't seen him all morning or yesterday for that matter. You don't think-"

Lily looked grim, "I have my suspicions, but I cannot be sure yet. RJ has been acting strangely lately."

Fran nodded, "Either way, I think you three should try and get her to talk. If anything she needs a friend right now. I can take care of things here." Fran shooed them up the stairs to the loft.

As they neared RJ's room they heard muffled sobbing. The trio looked at each other bracing themselves as Lily knocked on the door. "Rinna! Are you in there?"

The sobbing stopped momentarily, "Go away." Rinna moaned.

Lily spoke again, "Why don't you come out so we can talk about what's bothering you? Maybe it will help ease whatever pain you are in."

Rinna grew defensive, "No! Nothing can heal this void. Nothing you can give me anyway. Leave me be."

Lily was growing frustrated, "Master! You cannot plan to sit in RJ's room sobbing for all eternity can you?! You have responsibilities, students, and a job-"

Lily was cut short from her tirade when the door to the bedroom opened, revealing a grief-stricken Rinna. Fran was right, Rinna looked hopelessly lost, and her eyes had lost their yellow fire. Rinna snarled at the three students, "What part of leave me alone to my misery do you not understand?! You cannot hope to understand what happened last night, nor will you get any answers from me. If you want your answers go find RJ!" Rinna slammed the door, rocking the wall with the sheer force of its slam. The three students jumped at the loud sound.

Theo glowered at Lily, "Well…that went well."

Casey shook his head, "It wasn't a complete loss though. She told us some information, now we just need to put it all together and figure out what happened last night. We should look around for clues of a struggle."

Lily suddenly saw something gleaming on the wall. She took some of it and rubbed it between her fingers, smearing the red substance around on her fingertips; she gasped horrified, "Its blood!" She also noticed the huge slash marks next to the blood stains. "And these are huge claw marks. What could have done this?"

Theo was at the top of the stairs that led down to the kitchen area. He bent down and picked up a long black strand of hair, the ends coated in blood. "It's a strand of Rinna's hair! It's also coated in some blood." He remarked.

Casey frowned, thinking of the implications of this evidence. He decided he would need more information. He needed to go see what Master Finn, RJ's father, thought of all this.

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Casey left JKP to go find Master Finn. Maybe he would know what was going on with Rinna and RJ. The shark master lived on the shores of Ocean Bluff, hours outside the city in a shack. Casey walked into the the shack to find the master working on one of his boats. Finn acknowledged him, "Casey, what brings you to my home?"

Casey sighed and sat down in a chair by the desk. He held his hands out in front of him as he spoke, "It's Rinna and RJ, something happened. Ever since Rinna and RJ came back from Dai Shi's Palace, RJ has been acting strangely. He keeps gripping his chest in pain, but he writes it off as a pulled muscle. Rinna has been suspicious for weeks and she told me she noticed a purple glow emanating from where RJ holds his chest in pain. Something happened last night. Something bad."

The Shark Master looked up from his work, "What happened?" He stopped working on his boat and sat in a chair opposite Casey.

"We came back from our trip backpacking through the woods and Fran greeted us. She seemed frantic and worried as she explained the situation to us. Fran said that RJ was gone and Rinna had holed up in RJ's room, refusing to come out. We went up to investigate and tried to coax Rinna out of RJ's room. We could hear Rinna sobbing, but it was muffled, as if she was sobbing into a pillow. We asked her what was wrong and if she wanted to talk about it, but she growled and threw a pillow at the door, telling us to leave her to her misery.

We then searched the loft for clues as to what happened. We found a strand of Rinna's hair covered in blood and scratch marks all along the walls and floor. I decided to come here to get some insight as to what happened." Casey finished.

The Shark Master looked crest fallen. "You, Lily and Theo don't know what my son's and Rinna's animal spirits are do you?"

Casey shook his head.

Finn continued, "RJ and Rinna have Wolf Spirits. RJ is the calmer wolf, the grey wolf, and Rinna is the more ferocious wolf, the black wolf. Rinna's had trouble with her spirit for almost a year now, causing her physical appearance of her human form look more like her wolf form. Her yellow eyes and black hair are manifestations of her imbalance; she used to have brown hair and green eyes."

Casey's eyes widened, "They are both wolves? I thought that there was only one animal for each master."

Finn nodded, "Usually yes. RJ and Rinna are a special case. RJ was original wolf spirit, but Rinna has the less common and more temperamental version. I know what's wrong with RJ and judging by the way she intervened, Rinna does too. RJ was attacked by Dai Shi, making his wolf restless and more bestial, into a werewolf. Judging by your report of the struggle in the loft, Rinna must have waited for him to return and got attacked by the beast. RJ probably got a hold on his animal spirit before it could finish her, and was horrified at what he'd done. That's probably why he left, to protect her. But, he has made a grave mistake in leaving her behind. It may cost him dearly if not righted in time."

Casey looked puzzled, "How so?"

The master sighed, "RJ and Rinna are romantically involved, right?"

Casey nodded, not sure where the old master was leading him. Master Finn explained, "RJ has put Rinna in even more danger by leaving her for her own good. Wolves mate for life. They have one mate and only one. After their mate dies, the female wolf often doesn't last long; they sink into a period of grief, often ending in or followed by their subsequent death. They die of their heartbreak, but it's slow and painful. I fear RJ has put her in more danger than he realizes."

Casey's eyes got wide at the implications, "We have to act fast. Will you go talk to Rinna, Master? I don't know how else to help her."

Finn nodded, gathering his things, "She's the closest thing to a daughter that I have. I will do whatever it takes to make sure she's ok. I will send Master Swoop and Master Phant after my wayward son. He needs to be told of Rinna's state and he needs help harnessing his rebellious wolf spirit."

Casey nodded, "Come on, by time we get back it will be dark and who knows what's happened to Rinna since we've been gone." They walked back to JKP.

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When Casey and Master Finn returned to JKP at near dusk, they were swarmed by Theo and Lily, who had frantic looks on their faces. Lily pulled on Casey's sleeve, trying to drag him up the stairs, "Quick! You have to do something!"

They explained the situation to Master Finn and Casey. Rinna had apparently gone silent. She wouldn't answer or acknowledge any attempts to evoke a response from her. Master Finn hurried up the steps, hoping he wasn't too late. He came to RJ's room and banged furiously on the door.

He yelled, "Rinna! Open the door!" There was no response. Finn grew worried and pushed the door open with his blue shark energy. The room was deadly silent. You could probably hear a pin drop. The room was like a dark tomb. The blinds were shut and the curtains drawn over them, plunging the room into darkness. The four of them slowly moved in into the room. The bed covers were strewn about the room some had distinct claw marks in them. A pillow was slumped by the door, where she had thrown it to earlier. They carefully searched the room for Rinna, but there was no sign of the wolfess.

Suddenly, Lily screamed.

The others ran over to her and gasped in horror at the sight. Rinna was sprawled out on the floor beside the bed, her yellow eyes open and unseeing. Her black hair was wildly spread out around her face and in her hands she clutched a pillow in a white-knuckled death grip. Master Finn bent down to the poor woman and waved a hand in front of her eyes, trying to evoke a response. Nothing happened. Lily asked haltingly, "Is she…dead?"

RJ's father sighed, "No, she's not. Rinna has slipped into a comatose state."

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End file.
